Una registered trademark

It's undeniable that Muelle's signature, for its lettering, legibility and popular push has always been somewhere between graffiti and personal brand, without being unnoticed for the different advertising agencies that saw in his transgressive and street character a valuable advertising asset. 

Juan Carlos, being conscious of the appeal of his signature and foreseeing possible plagiarisms decided to register it at the Spanish Office of Patents and Brands in 1985, this being one of the most innovative aspects of his career. 

Since then his signature, already turned into a brand, was formed by the three characteristic parts: the word Muelle, the spiral ending in an arrow and the trademark symbol ®.  

Wrongful uses of the brand. 

In June 1988, in the magazine "Villa de Madrid", edited by the City Hall, published a vignette referencing the city's candidacy to European Capital of Culture in 1992. It it, there were shown as most representative city emblems the Puerta de Alcalá, the Piruli and a replicated signature of Muelle, without Juan Carlos's consent, on an advertising poster. 

On another ocassion, it was Renault, through the advertising agency Lintas who replicated a spiral ending in an arrow shape, similar to Muelle's, but pointing left. This was shown on TV ad campaigns for the launch of the Renault Super 5 in 1989.   

On both cases Juan Carlos sent the appropriate complaints for brand plagiarism having, of course, more repercussion on the media than the following judicial journey. 

The ®, a characteristic Muelle symbol 

In February 2022, @levis_spain released, in collaboratoin with the creative Ausias Pérez, a collection of seven patches with the city of Madrid as the theme. One of them, the ®️, is inspired by Muelle's signature.  

Even if the ® is not an exclusive symbol of Muelle, the repercussion it has had by going together with his signature is significant, so that in many cases, such as this one with Levi's, the R within a circle is associated with the brand Muelle.